Suspended shelf support system

ABSTRACT

Brackets are provided in two forms so that, with the addition of shelving stock, suspended shelving units can be built. Regardless of form the brackets have reversely bent edge flanges so that they may be linked together to form parallel chains. Shelves are supported between the chains and held in place by means of threaded fasteners.

The present invention claims priority from U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 60/653,301, filed on Feb. 16, 2005.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to suspended shelving systems and particularlyto a shelving system which includes a bracket having reversely bentopposite end flanges which make it possible to link brackets together toform hanging chains between which shelves are fastened.

2. Background of the Invention

Shelving systems and units of various kinds are available. The mostcommon type of shelving unit comprises corner posts and a plurality offlat shelves fastened between the posts in parallel spaced relationship.The unit stands on the floor. A more recent development is thewall-mounted shelving system using vertical metal support stripsfastened to a wall and having spaced slots, and brackets which arefastened to the supports by means of tabs which extend into the slots.Shelves are then mounted on the brackets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a suspended shelving system and/orcomponents for constructing suspended shelving systems in a variety ofsizes. In one form, the present invention is a shelving system adaptedto be suspended from a ceiling or other overhead support by means of eyehooks or the like. In general, a. system constructed in accordance withthe present invention comprises two or more chains of interlinked shelfsupport brackets, each bracket including a plate-like body withreversely bent edge flanges at the opposite longitudinal ends thereof topermit identical brackets to be linked to one another to form a chain.With one form of bracket, the interlinked edge flanges providealternately oppositely directed horizontal support surfaces for the endsof shelf which can be fastened between parallel but spaced apartbrackets or bracket chains. The brackets and shelves are easilyassembled using common household tools and a minimum of handyman skills.With three or more chains of interlinked brackets, shelves andrespective adjacent vertical rows are staggered. Because the shelvingunits require no proximity to a vertical wall, they may be suspendedfrom an overhead support in the middle of a room as well as near a wall.

Using another form of bracket, the reversely bent edge flanges extend inopposite directions and an offset is provided in the longitudinal centerof the bracket to provide a shelf support extending in one direction.Again, using three or more chains of such brackets, the shelves inadjacent vertical rows are staggered and any given shelving systemrequires no immediate proximity to a vertical walls.

In the commercial form, the “product” may be sold in the form ofbrackets alone or in combination with suitable instruction literature.This allows the user to select shelving material according to his or herown tastes and according to his or her own requirements as far as sizeand quantity is concerned. Alternatively, brackets made in accordancewith the invention may be packaged with shelving material and sold asextendable or fixed-size kits. The advantages of the present inventionare numerous. Shelves need be neither too high nor too low; units do notrest on floors subject to flooding; units can be placed anywhere in aroom and can be accessed from both sides.

Because of the retailing possibilities as described above, anotheraspect of the invention is the bracket per se. As hereinafter describedin greater detail, there are at least two embodiments of the bracket,each embodiment comprising a plate-like body fabricated from essentiallyrigid stock such as steel, aluminum or plastic and having bent outopposite edge flanges to permit the brackets to be interlinked. In oneembodiment, the bent out flanges are reversely bent so that two or morebrackets can be linked end-to-end. Each bracket has a hanger hole nearthe uppermost edge flange and a shelf fastener hole proximate thelowermost edge flange. Both of the holes are preferably laterallycentered on the bracket; i.e., midway between the opposite lateraledges. The shelf fastener hole is designed to accommodate a fastenersuch as a screw or nail having a head and is preferably provided with akeyway such that fasteners may be installed in the shelf and thecombination of the shelf and. fasteners dropped into place between twospaced apart parallel chains of linked brackets. Although we refergenerally to the use of “shelves” with the brackets, it is to beunderstood that other items such as baskets made of stiff wire-likematerial can also be suspended from the brackets.

In another embodiment, an offset or step is provided in the center ofthe bracket for shelf support purposes. This bracket is typically longerthan the bracket of the first embodiment. Again, the oppositelongitudinal edges of the bracket are bent back to provide edge flanges,in this case, the flanges extending in opposite directions from oneanother, to permit the brackets to be linked together to form a chain ofany desired length. Again, two or more chains of brackets can besuspended from the ceiling or another overhead support by means of hooksand shelves are mounted between the chains by means of the flangesand/or offsets. Where three or more parallel chains or brackets areused, the shelves are staggered as between adjacent vertical rows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing of a portion of a shelving system usinga first form of bracket.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view diagram of a shelving system using twoor more chains of brackets of the type shown in FIG. 1 and staggeredshelving units between adjacent parallel chains or brackets.

FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing of a second type of bracket showing howtwo identical brackets are interlinked; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view diagram of a three vertical row shelvingsystem constructed using brackets of the type illustrated in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a first shelving system is shown to comprise inpart identical, linkable metal brackets 10, 12 and 14, each of whichcomprises a flat, plate-like body which may, for example, measureapproximately four inches vertically by three inches horizontally.Bracket 10 has reversely bent edge flanges 16 and 18 at thelongitudinally opposite ends thereof, each flange being approximately ⅜to ¼ of an inch deep and bent back to define an included angle betweenthe flange and the body of the bracket 10 of approximately 45°. Theupper edge flange 16 has a laterally centrally located tooth 20 formedthereon for purposes to be described. A hanger hole 22 is formed in thebody of bracket 10 approximately ¼ of an inch below the top edge andapproximately 5/16 of an inch in diameter to permit the bracket to behung from an eyehook 40 or the like which is screwed into an overheadsupport as hereinafter described. In addition, bracket 10 is providedwith a keyway shaped fastener aperture 24. The top portion of the keywayshaped aperture 24 is approximately ¼ of an inch in diameter and thelower portion approximately ⅛ of an inch in width an extending fully tothe bend line which defines the lower edge flange 18.

Similarly, bracket 12 has upper and lower reversely bent edge flanges 26and 28, a hanger hole 30 and a keyway aperture 32. Identical bracket 14has upper and lower edge flanges of which only the upper edge flange 34appears in FIG. 1. This upper edge flange has a tooth 36 formedcentrally between the lateral edges and a hanger hoe 38.

The shelving system illustrated in FIG. 1 is only partial as will beexplained hereinafter with reference to FIG. 2. However, it is shown tocomprise shelving stock which in this instance includes an upper shelf42 and a lower shelf 44. Screws 46 and 48 are used to secure the shelvesto the brackets as hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 2, to assemble a shelving unit using the brackets10, 12 and 14 of FIG. 1 as well as additional identical brackets, a pairof eye hooks 40 are screwed into an overhead support such as a ceilingjoist 50. Chains, not shown, can be used to lower the shelving unit fromthe ceiling, but in this case it is assumed that identical brackets 10and 10 are hooked to the eye hooks 40 by way of the hanger holes 22.Brackets 12 and 12′ are linked to the top brackets 10 and 10′ by placingthe edge flanges 26 on top of the edge flanges 18. It will be noted thatthe center tooth 20 (not shown) of the bracket 12 fits into the keywayshaped aperture 24 of the bracket 10 and the tooth 36 of the bracket 14fits into the keyway aperture 32 of the bracket 12. This helps align thebrackets with one another and prevent sideways slippage betweenbrackets. As many brackets as desired may be linked together to formparallel vertical chains which are spaced apart laterally by the desiredwidth of the shelving unit. Although not shown in FIG. 2, it is to beunderstood that additional chains of additional vertical chains ofidentical brackets are suspended from additional eye hooks 40 at thedesired lateral spacing and in parallel to the chains made up of thebrackets 10 and 10′, 12 and 12′, 14 and 14′ shown in FIG. 2.

The shelf 42 which is typically but not necessarily made of wood and ofa depth which may be substantially greater than the lateral width of thebracket 10 is disposed between the bracket chains; i.e., between thebrackets 10 and 10′ by resting the shelf 42 on the top edge flanges 26and 26′ of the brackets 12 and 12′ respectively. The shallow depth ofthe interlinked end flanges is sufficient to provide support for theshelf 42 when fasteners 46 and 46′ are disposed through the keyways ofthe apertures 24 and 24′ of the respective brackets 10 and 10′. Thefasteners 46 may be screws or nails and are preferably but notnecessarily screwed or pounded part way into the shelf 42 along thelateral centerline thereof prior to assembly of the shelf 42 into itsposition between the brackets 10 and 10′. This approach to assembly ispermitted by the keyway shaped apertures 24 which allow the heads of thefasteners 46 to be inserted through the larger holes, after which theshelf is dropped down into its support position wherein the shaft of thefastener passes through the narrower slot shaped portion of theapertures 24. If screws are used, the fasteners 46 and 46′ may be leftslightly loose during the assembly process and then tightened up to morepermanently integrate the entire system. The shelves 44 and 44′ areapproximately 4 inches below the shelf 42 and are “staggered” in thesense that they are in adjacent parallel rows. This of course requirestwo additional chains of brackets 10, 12 and 14 arranged in parallelwith the chains shown in FIG. 2. Shelf 44 rests on the “knee” formed bythe interlinked edge flanges of the brackets 12 and 14 and are securedby fastener 48 driven into the end surfaces of the shelf 44. Thisarrangement can be duplicated vertically as many times as space and/orneed allows/requires, the result being a shelving system with laterallystaggered shelves with overall 8 inch spacings. Of course the bracketsmay be made in different sizes to provide wider gaps or “pitch” betweenparallel shelves in the same row. By way of example, a bracket 10 with a6 inch vertical dimension provides as 12 inch pitch between shelves in agiven row and a 6 inch space in between staggered shelves in laterallyadjacent rows. The system shown in FIG. 2 has a bottom shelf 52 at adistance below the shelf 42 calculated in accordance with a number ofbrackets which are added to the chains.

As described above, shelving system constructed in accordance with theillustrations of FIGS. 1 and 2 has remarkable stability and unitaryintegrity without the necessity for leaning against or bearing against avertical surface such as an outside wall. While the preferred materialfor the brackets 10, 12 and 14 is solid metal, they may also be made ofrigid mesh and/or plastic. They must of course be relatively rigid andmay be painted or otherwise colored in various colors and designsaccording to the creative imagination of the manufacturer.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a second style or form of bracket 54 isshown. A second identical bracket 56 is also shown in FIG. 3 to conveythe fact that identical brackets 54 and 56 are vertically linkable toform chains in the same manner the chains were formed with the brackets10, 12 and 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The bracket 54 is also made of platestock such as steel, but has an overall longitudinal dimension ofapproximately 8 inches, rather than the four inch longitudinal dimensionof the bracket 10 of FIG. 1. Bracket 54 also has edge flanges 58 and 60,a laterally central hanger hole 62 just below the upper edge flange 58and a keyway shaped aperture 64 adjacent and running into the lower edgeflange 60. The upper edge flange 58 preferably has a central tooth 66formed therein to interfit into the lower portion of the keyway aperture64 when two identical brackets 54, 56 are linked together to form achain.

The bracket 54 is formed with a longitudinally central, laterallyextending offset 68 of approximately ¼ of an inch in depth. Whereas theedge flanges 58 and 60 are reversely bent through an angle ofapproximately 135°, the offset 68 is preferably bent at an angle of only90 degrees and a second keyway shaped aperture 70 is formed just abovebut extending into the offset 68 as best shown in FIG. 3. It will beappreciated that hole 62 is a “hanger” whereas the apertures 64 and 70are fastener apertures serving the same purpose as the apertures 24 and32 in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a three-row shelving system suspended from fourlined up but laterally spaced eye hooks 70 as shown. As in theembodiment of FIG. 2, the eyehooks 70 are driven into a ceiling joist 72at intervals representing the desired lateral width or extent of theshelves 74, 76 and 78 to be suspended therefrom. Starting with theleft-hand most chain of brackets 54, 56, it will be seen that the topbracket 54 is suspended directly from the eye hook 70. As before, alength of chain may be interposed between the eye hook 70 and the topbracket 54 if it is desired to lower the entire unit. Bracket 56 islinked to bracket 54 by way of the edge flanges. The offset 68 in thebracket 54 provides the rest or support for the shelf 74. The secondchain of brackets 54′, 56′, etc. is identical to the first chain butarranged in mirror image relationship. A third chain of brackets 54″,56″, etc. is arranged and parallel to the first and second chains and afourth chain of brackets 54′″, 56′″is arranged in mirror imagerelationship to the third chain. Shelves 74 are arranged between thefirst and second chains, the outer lateral edges of the shelves 74resting on the offset 68 as described above. Fasteners 76 are driveninto the edges .of the shelves 74 and, in the assembled state, extendthrough the slotted portions of the fastener aperture 70 shown in FIG.3. Again, it is preferred to place the fasteners 76 in the edges of theshelves before the shelves 74 are put in place.

Shelves 76 are disposed between the interlinked edge flanges of thebrackets 54′, 54″, 56′, 56″ and are therefore staggered by four inchesrelative to the shelves 74 in the first vertical row of shelves. Again,this provides an eight inch pitch between shelves in a given verticalrow and a four inch space in between the staggered shelves in adjacentrows.

It will be noticed that the edge flanges of the brackets 54 are bent inopposite directions whereas the edge flanges of the brackets 10 are bentin the same direction. It will also be noted that a bracket 54 is, ineffect, a pair of brackets 10 permanently pre-linked. Whereas the offset68 is preferably 90 degrees, it may be somewhat greater than 90 degreesif desired. Again, the brackets 54, be made of numerous relatively rigidmaterials including both side metal, gridded metal and plastic. Shelvingunits of the type shown in FIG. 4 may be designed and created in any ofmany varying widths according to the physical characteristics of theshelving material used and the weight of the object to be supported bythe shelves. The shelf depths can be substantially greater than thewidth of the brackets 54 and the shelf pitch may be varied by varyingthe longitudinal dimensions of the bracket 54, 56.

It will be appreciated that the invention has been described withreference to specific and preferred embodiments thereof and that variouschanges, alterations and additions may occur to those skilled in theart.

1. A linkable support bracket for shelves and the like comprising: abody of plate-like stock having longitudinally opposite ends bent backalong parallel bend lines to form opposite edge flanges; and a fastenerhole formed laterally centrally of the body proximate the lowermostflange, whereby a shelf or the like may be fastened between parallelbrackets.
 2. A bracket as described in claim 1 wherein the fastener holehas a keyway extending toward the adjacent bend line.
 3. A bracket asdefined in claim 1 wherein a tooth is formed on the edge of one of theedge flanges.
 4. A shelf support bracket adapted to be linked withduplicates of itself comprising: an elongate body of substantially flatstock having longitudinally opposite ends reversely bent back alongparallel bend lines to form opposite flange hooks and a longitudinallyintermediate, laterally extending step; a hanger hole formed laterallycentrally of the body proximate the uppermost flange hook; and afastener hole formed laterally centrally of the body proximate thelowermost flange hook.
 5. A shelf support bracket as described in claim4 further including a fastener hole formed laterally centrally of thebody proximate the step.
 6. A shelf support bracket as defined in claim5 wherein the fastener holes have keyways extending toward the adjacentbend line and step respectively.
 7. In combination: a pair of identicalbrackets adapted to be longitudinally linked with duplicates ofthemselves, each bracket comprising a body of substantially flat stockhaving longitudinally opposite edges flanges bent back along parallelbend lines to form opposite flange hooks; a hanger hole formed laterallycentrally of each body proximate the uppermost flange hook; a fastenerhole formed laterally centrally of each body proximate the lowermostflange hook; and a device fastened between the brackets.
 8. Thecombination of claim 7 wherein each bracket has an offset formed at thelongitudinal center parallel to the bend lines forming the edge flangehooks.
 9. The combination of claim 7 wherein each bracket has a toothformed in the outer edge of the upper flange hook.